I got my truck from the dealer today, two weeks after taking it to them. I had given them the other ignitor which had been previously checked by an electronics guy and verified to be ok. The toytech insisted that the signal generator was bad and recommended replacement of the whole distributor so I let them.
Well, that didn't work either. Monday, they had another truck (84-88 carbed) come in for service and the toytech decided to try the ignitor from that vehicle on mine. Low and behold, "Houston, we have ignition"!
Even though the ignitor I had checked out "appeared" good, it would not operate under load. I guess a good analogy might be a car battery that shows 12 volts while sitting there, but drops voltage rapidly under load, i.e.-cranking.
Checked around for one. Dealer - $377, Bap Geon - $404, AutoZone - $360. Finally, Advance Auto - $295 with tax. All these units came with a 1 year warranty. When I opened the box of the one I bought, Borg Warner had their warranty listed as 5 year/50K miles. Funny how Advance Auto wouldn't honor it though. If it happens to fail after a year, I gotta send it to BW for replacement.
So, I'm a happy camper leaving the dealer until I go to use my turn signals and they aren't working. Now I start getting pissed. I turned around and went back to them and explained that I've never had any electrical problems and that the signals were working fine when I brought the truck to them. The hazards worked though. Their tech checked the fuses and found no problems, and said that I had power going into the signal switch, but none coming out. Well, that was all I got outta them. I had to troubleshoot the problem myself there at the dealership.
After two hours of checking, I was ready to insist on a new turn signal switch. I talked to the parts guy who said it was $215. You can't buy the switch separate; you had to buy the headlamp, hazard, and wiper switches also!! What a rip off!!!
Then, he suggested that I turn the hazard switch off/on repeatedly a few times to reset some kinda bypass built into the switch. I tried that and walla, I've got turn signals again! Strange, very strange. Oh, and I priced a flasher unit for it too. Friken $53 for that puppy!!
One last thing:
The toytech said he didn't recommend hooking the tach up to the diagnostic service connector on the ignitor saying that it would cause premature failure of the unit. That wire is the same wire which connects to the negative side of the coil. The gauge cluster came from an '86 22re 4x4. I can't see any other place in my factory service manual to make another connection. Personally, I think he's wrong. Ideas or advice anyone?
